ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Power
Secretary  Govt of India meets Secretary  Govt of Bangladesh on the issues related to 1320MW Maitree Power project.
Secretary  Govt of India met Secretary  Govt of Bangladesh today through video conferencing for the issues related to 1320MW Maitree Power project. This meeting was convened shortly after the 8th High Level Monitoring Committee meeting held on 17.06.2021 during which certain critical issues were identified that required to be addressed for timely commissioning of unit#1 in December 2021.
The meeting was attended by senior officials including the officials from Ministry of Power , Ministry of External Affairs , High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh, Department of Heavy Industries , Central Electricity Authority , NTPC Ltd. BHEL and BIFPCL.
The COVID situation since March 2020 has presented enough challenges to the people of both the countries and have affected the implementation of the Maitree project and both sides are putting the best effort to complete the project in time. The Bangladesh side was assured that BHEL and BIFPCL are confident to meet the timelines, with the support of Govt of Bangladesh in the matter of Entry Permission and VISA approvals for Highly skilled ex-pat manpower from India, Customs related Issues / Imposition of Advance Income Tax  after latest SRO 126, Court Case against BHEL employees posted at Maitree Site & in offices in India and Vaccination of work force.
The project is an environmentally friendly supercritical technology based thermal power plant, and the first unit of this project would be commissioned in December’2021 i.e. coinciding with Golden Jubilee celebration of Victory Day of Bangladesh and Unit#2 is expected to be commissioned matching with the implementation of associated transmission system.
Secretary , Govt of Bangladesh assured of the necessary support for completion of the project in time and appreciated the progress made by the project so far, despite the COVID constraints since last year.
Both sides also discussed about the date of the meeting of the next JWG /JSC for the India-Bangladesh Cooperation in Power Sector. It has been decided to hold JWG/JSC meeting in the 3rd week of September 2021.
Secretary  Govt of India thanked the Bangladesh side and expressed gratitude for the support committed by Secretary  Govt of Bangladesh
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Paper Import Monitoring System  to come into effect from 1st October, 2022; Online registration facility to be available from 15th July 2022
Paper products like currency paper, bank bond and Cheque paper, security printing paper, etc. have been excluded from mandatory registration
Introduction of PIMS is intended to curb imports under “Others” category
The move also aimed at promoting ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar’ initiative under this category
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade , has introduced Paper Import Monitoring System  by amending the import policy of major paper products from ‘Free’ to ‘Free subject to compulsory registration under PIMS’. PIMS shall come into effect from 1st October, 2022. However, the online facility of registration will be available from 15th July 2022.
The PIMS shall be applicable on import by a Domestic Territory Area unit on a wide range of paper products covering 201 tariff lines, such as newsprint, handmade paper, coated paper, uncoated paper, Litho and offset paper, tissue paper, toilet paper, cartons, labels, etc. However, paper products like currency paper, bank bond and Cheque paper, security printing paper, etc. have been excluded from mandatory registration.
As per PIMS, an importer will be required to obtain an automatic registration number through online system by paying a registration fee of Rs. 500/- only, not earlier than 75th day and not later than 5th day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment. The automatic registration Number shall remain valid for a period of 75 days and multiple consignments Bill of Entry  shall be allowed in same registration number within the validity period of registration, for the permitted quantity.
Further, registration under PIMS shall also be required at the point of import by a Unit in Special Economic Zone/Free Trading Warehousing Zone or at the time of import by an Export Oriented Unit of the items covered under PIMS. However, registration under PIMS shall not be required by the Domestic Territory Area  Unit at the time of Customs Clearance from the SEZ/FTWZ/EOU to DTA if no processing has taken place of the item of paper that has already been registered under PIMS at the time of entry into a SEZ/FTWZ/EOU.
Based on the demand of domestic paper industry, the introduction of PIMS is intended to curb imports under “Others” category Tariff Lines, dumping of paper products in the domestic market by way of under-invoicing, entry of prohibited goods by mis-declaration, re-routing goods through other countries in lieu of trade agreements. This may also promote ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar’ initiative under this category.
However, if processing has taken place in the SEZ/FTWZ/EOU with change in HS Code at 8-Digit level, then the importer in DTA will require to register under PIMS, if the processed item falls under any of the 201 tariff lines covered under PIMS.
Prime Minister's Office
PM condoles loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Raigad district of Maharashtra.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones”, the Prime Minister said.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves renaming of Agartala Airport, Tripura as Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to rename the Agartala Airport in Tripura as ‘Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala. The decision comes in the wake of the long pending demand of people of Tripura as well as the Tripura Government for paying tribute to Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore.
Background
Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore, who ascended the throne of the erstwhile Tripura Princely State in 1923, was an enlightened and benevolent ruler. Agartala Airport was constructed in 1942 on the land donated by Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore. As a visionary ruler, who had travelled extensively across the globe, he took several steps for the all-round development of Tripura. Due to his initiative, an aerodrome at Agartalawas constructed that has evolved as the second busiest airport in the North East and provides crucial air connectivity to Tripura. Hence, it is apt to rename the Agartala Airport after his name, which will be a befitting tribute to Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovindwill confer the National Service Scheme  Awards for the year 2018-19 on 24th September, 2020
The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovindwill confer the National Service Scheme  Awards for the year 2018-19 on 24th September, 2020 from Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi through virtual mode. UnionMinister of Youth Affairs and SportsShri Kiren Rijiju will attend the ceremony from Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The National Service Scheme  Award for the year 2018-19 will be given to 42 awardees in 3 different categories like University/ +2 Council, NSS Units and their Programme Officers and NSS Volunteers.
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Department of Youth Affairs confers every year the National Service Scheme Award to recognize and reward outstanding contributions towards voluntary community service made by the Universities/Colleges,  Councils, Senior Secondary, NSS Units/ Programme Officers and NSS Volunteers, with a view to further promote NSS in the country. At present, NSS has about 40 lakh volunteers on its rolls spread over the country.
NSS is a Centrally Sector Scheme which was launched in the year 1969 with the primary objective of developing the personality and character of the student youth through voluntary community service. The ideological orientation of the NSS is inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Very appropriately, the motto of NSS is “NOT ME, BUT YOU” in Hindi.
Briefly, the NSS volunteers work on issues of social relevance, which keep evolving in response to the needs of the community, through regular and special camping activities. Such issues include  literacy and education,  health, family welfare and nutrition,  environment conservation,  social service programmes,  programmes for empowerment of women,  programmes connected with economic development activities,  rescue and relief during calamities, etc.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
UPDATES ON COVID-19
Recovered cases sharply overtake active cases
Difference between recovered and active cases crosses 1 lakh
Recovery rate increases to 58.56%
Per day testing crosses 2.3 lakh samples
The graded, pre-emptive and pro-active steps taken by Government of India along with the States/UTs for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 are showing encouraging results.
The gap between recoveries and active cases has crossed 1,00,000. The recovered cases have exceeded the active cases by 106,661 as of today. Thus, so far, a total of 3,09,712 patients have been cured of COVID-19. The recovery rate is 58.56% amongst COVID-19 patients. During the last 24 hours, a total of 13,832 COVID-19 patients have been cured.
Presently, there are 2,03,051 active cases and all are under active medical supervision.
India now has 1036 diagnostic labs dedicated to COVID-19. This includes 749 in the government sector and 287 private labs.
The break-up is as below:
• Real-Time RT PCR based testing labs: 567 
• TrueNat based testing labs : 382 
• CBNAAT based testing labs : 87 
Daily more than 2,00,000 samples are being tested. The samples tested in the last 24 hours have further increased to 2,31,095. The total number of samples tested, as on date, is 82,27,802.
As of 28th June 2020, the COVID related health infrastructure has been strengthened with the availability of 1055 dedicated COVID Hospitals with 1,77,529 isolation beds, 23,168 ICU beds and 78,060 oxygen supported beds; 2,400 dedicated COVID Health Centres with 1,40,099 Isolation beds, 11,508 ICU beds and 51,371 oxygen supported beds have also been operationalised.
Moreover, 9,519 COVID Care Centres with 8,34,128 beds are now available to combat COVID-19 in the country. The Centre has also provided 187.43 lakh N95 masks and 116.99 lakh Personal Protective Equipments  to the States/ UTs / Central Institutions.
For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA .
Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19[at]gov[dot]in and other queries on ncov2019[at]gov[dot]in and @CovidIndiaSeva .
In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 . List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .
Ministry of Defence
Status Update – Management of Covid-19 Cases by MOD
Ministry of Defence has mobilised all necessary resources to support the national effort towards the management of COVID-19 cases.
At present, military is running two medical facilities at Hindon, Ghaziabad and Manesar, Haryana and a total of 265 civilians are under military supervision at these two facilities. As per DG AFMS, a batch of 124 cases have completed their 14 days of isolation at Manesar facility, have tested negative and are ready to leave the facility.
More facilities at Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Suratgarh, Gorakhpur, Jhansi & Kolkata are geared up to absorb any more citizens that are likely to arrive in India over the next few days.
Col Aman Anand
PRO 
(Visitor Counter : 636
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
IMPLEMENTATION OF RERA
‘Land and Colonization’ is a State subject. However, in order to protect the interest of homebuyers and to ensure transparency and accountability in the Real Estate Sector, Parliament has enacted The Real Estate  Act, 2016 . The Regulatory Authorities established under the Act are required to publish and maintain a web portal, containing relevant details of all real estate projects for which registration has been given, for public viewing.
As per the latest information available with the Ministry , all States/ UTs have notified Rules under RERA except the State of Nagaland. 32 States/UTs have set up Real Estate Regulatory Authority and 28 States/UTs have set up Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. 1,01,304 Real Estate Projects & 72,012 Real Estate Agents have been registered under the provisions of RERA and 1,06,657 complaints have been successfully disposed of by the Real Estate Regulatory Authorities across the country. State-wise implementation details of RERA  are annexed.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Kaushal Kishore, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Sewage Water Treatment
Discharge of untreated & partially treated sewage and industrial effluent is primary cause of pollution of river and water bodies. As per the report published by Central pollution Control Board  in March, 2015; sewage generation from urban areas in the country is estimated at 61, 948 million litres per day , against which available sewage treatment capacity was 23,277 mld.
Discharge of raw sewage into water bodies cause depletion of Dissolved Oxygen  in river and thus, adversely impact aquatic life. Cleaning of river through proper sewage management is a continuous process and Central Government is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments and Union Territories in addressing the challenges of pollution of rivers by providing financial and technical assistance through schemes like National River Conservation Plan  and Namami Gange. The
NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches of 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 States in the country with a sanctioned cost of Rs. 5870.54 crore. Under Namami Gange, the rejuvenation of Ganga and its tributaries have been taken up. So far, a total of 310 projects have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.28790.66 crore under Namami Gange. Of these, 116 projects have been completed and made operational.
In addition, sewage infrastructure are also created under programs like Atal Mission For Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation  and Smart cities Mission.
Operation and maintenance  of STP and sewage pumping station is the responsibility of the State Governments/Urban local body concerned. Lack of adequate sewer networks & house connection and unsatisfactory operation and maintenance are major reasons for under utilization of sewage treatment plants . Central Government has been regularly asking the States to improve the performance of STPs.
In addition, CPCB had issued directions on 21.04.2015 to the State Pollution Control Boards /Pollution Control Committees  under the Water  Act, 1974 asking them to issue directions to Local Authorities responsible for sewage management in their respective cities/towns and to submit time bound action plans for collection, transportation and treatment of sewage generated in urban area. CPCB has also issued directions on 09.10.2015 to Local Authorities under Environment  Act, 1986 for sewage management in Class I Cities and Class II towns and asked them to ensure that treated waste water is disposed in rivers and water bodies in accordance with the stipulated standards.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Power
EESL has installed more than 1.28 Cr. LED Street Lights across 29 States/UTs under Street Lighting National Programme: Shri R. K. Singh, Union Power & NRE Minister
The Hon’ble Prime Minister on 5th January, 2015 launched Street Lighting National Programme , which is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited , a joint venture company of Public Sector Undertakings  of Ministry of Power to replace conventional Street Lights with smart and energy efficient LED Street Lights across India.
The programme is being implemented across the country.
Street Light National Programme  is a voluntary programme. Under the programme, EESL had set an objective of converting an estimated number of 1.34 crores existing conventional Street Lights across all Urban Local Bodies /Gram Panchayats  of the country with energy efficient LED Street Lights in 5 years. For the same, EESL enters into agreement with ULBs/GPs directly or through the concerned State/UT Governments before replacement of Street Lights is taken up by EESL.
Being a voluntary programme, no specific targets have been set for SLNP. Till date, EESL has installed more than 1.28 Cr. LED Street Lights across 29 States/UTs
This information was given by the Union Minister of Power Sh. R.K. Singh in the Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to address closing ceremony of the year long celebrations of 400th Birth Anniversary of Lachit Barphukan on 25th November
Lachit Barphukan was General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom, who inflicted crushing defeat on Mughals in Battle of Saraighat in 1671
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the closing ceremony of the year long celebrations of 400th Birth Anniversary of Lachit Barphukan on 25th November, 2022 at 11 AM in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
It has been the constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to honour the unsung heroes in a befitting manner. In line with this, the country is celebrating 2022 as the 400th birth anniversary year of Lachit Barphukan. The celebrations were inaugurated in February this year by the then Hon’ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in Guwahati.
Lachit Barphukan  was the famous General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam who defeated the Mughals and successfully halted the ever expanding ambitions of the Mughals under Aurangzeb. Lachit Barphukan inspired the Assamese soldiers in the Battle of Saraighat fought in 1671, and delivered a crushing and humiliating defeat on the Mughals. The heroic fight of Lachit Barphukan and his army remains one of the most inspiring military feats of resistance in the history of our country.
Prime Minister's Office
PM invites inputs for this year's Pariksha Pe Charcha
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has invited everyone particularly the Exam Warriors, parents and teachers to share their inputs for this year's Pariksha Pe Charcha interaction.
The Prime Minister tweeted
"Pariksha Pe Charcha is made even more memorable by the extensive inputs received from people across all walks of life. I invite you all, particularly the #ExamWarriors, parents and teachers to share their inputs for this year's interaction. #PPC2023 innovateindia.mygov.in/ppc-2023/ "
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Swachh Bharat Mission  2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 to make the cities garbage free and water secure during the mission period of five years .
The major focus of Swachh Bharat Mission  2.0 [SBM  2.0] and AMRUT 2.0 launched on 1st October, 2021 is to make the cities garbage free and water secure during the mission period of five years .
The highlights of SBM  2.0 are as under:
- all households and premises segregate their waste into “wet waste”  and “dry waste” ;
- 100% door to door collection of segregated waste from each household/ premise;
- 100% scientific management of all fractions of waste, including safe disposal in scientific landfills;
- all legacy dumpsites remediated;
- all used water including faecal sludge, is safely contained, transported, processed and disposed so that no untreated faecal sludge and used water pollutes the ground or water bodies, in cities with less than one lakh population;
- phased reduction in use of single use plastic.
The highlights of AMRUT 2.0 are as under:
- Universal coverage of water supply from 500 cities to about 4,800 statutory towns.
- Focus on making the cities ‘self-reliant’ and ‘water secure’.
- Universal coverage of sewerage and septage management in 500 AMRUT cities.\
- Target to provide 2.68 crore drinking water tap connections and 2.64 crore sewer connections.
- Focus on financial sustainability of Urban Local Bodies  through enhanced credit worthiness and market borrowing.
- ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ will be undertaken in cities to promote healthy competition among them and function as monitoring tool and Mission accelerator.
- Technology sub-Mission under AMRUT 2.0 will help in identifying proven and potential global technologies in water sector.
- Entrepreneurship/ start-ups involved in low-cost indigenous equipments and processes will be encouraged.
All the cities of Uttar Pradesh including Firozabad arecovered under SBM  2.0 and are eligible to avail all components as per operational guidelines.
Out of 4,372 ULBs, 4,371 ULBs including Firozabad of the country except one in West Bengal  have been declared Open Defecation Free  under SBM .SBM  2.0 & AMRUT 2.0 cover all the cities in the country and their aim is to make them garbage free and water secure during the Mission Period 2021-2026.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Kaushal Kishore, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
YB/SS
(Visitor Counter : 1383
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Increase in Exports
The value of India’s overall exports  during first eight months of the current financial year, April-November 2020, was US$ 304.53 billion as compared to US$ 351.83 billion during same period of the previous year, showing a negative growth of 13.45%. During this period, India’s overall exports were US$ 44.87 billion in September 2020 as compared to US$ 43.56 billion in September 2019, showing a positive growth of 3%. Merchandise exports were US$ 27.1 billion in December 2020, showing a positive growth of 0.14 % as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
Policy making is an ongoing exercise and steps are taken based on the prevailing economic scenario. The following are some of the key steps taken by Government to increase exports:
- Foreign Trade Policy  extended by one year i.e. upto 31-3-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
- Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit has also been extended by one year i.e. upto 31-3-2021.
- A new Scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products , has been launched with effect from 01.01.2021.
- Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase FTA utilization by exporters.
- A comprehensive “Agriculture Export Policy” to provide an impetus to agricultural exports related to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and food processing sectors is under implementation.
- Promoting and diversifying services exports by pursuing specific action plans for the 12 Champion Services Sectors.
- Promoting districts as export hubs by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district.
- Active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced.
- Package announced in light of the covid pandemic to support domestic industry through various banking and financial sector relief measures, especially for MSMEs, which constitute a major share in exports.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.